USO Canteen FReeper Style....FReeper FRiday.... July 12,2002

Larry Johnson , AntiJen , Cotelanche and Snow Bunny

[Snow Bunny]

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The USO Canteen Honors FReepers
who have served, or are now serving their country.

Today's Honoree

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You may have a loved one who has served in the past.
We at the FReeper USO Canteen would like to honor each and every one.

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Welcome to the USO Canteen FReeper Style

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Message from Snow Bunny to all those who visit the Canteen.

This is how I think of the USO Canteen Freeper Style.
It is like a cottage down a road,
a place where a weary veteran can spend the night.

Since it opened, it is magical how so many
Freepers who post here, feel it too.
It has been so dear how the Freepers
kept making it a cottage - a home-type of place
that had a huge living room
for them to visit in and a dance floor, a library, etc.

Many Veterans have written to me,
saying that the Canteen is like home
to them for the first time since they served.

This is your Canteen -
a respite from our busy
and sometimes troubling world.
Make yourself at home...............................................................................................................................................................................

In 1998 Larry Johnson became a FReeper.

He retired to Maine in 1996 to be near his grandkids. Jay is on his back in the first picture.

It was Maine where he first heard Rush and Mary Matalin and got on WebTV to view Drudge, whom he thinks led him to Free Republic.

The road to Maine is etched on his t-shirt, LAAFB. For Larry is a retired USAF Officer, who served 22 years, 13 active in Los Angeles and another 14 under contract to the AF space agencies based there.

"I spent WWII in Baltimore, in uniform whenever I could get one. The sailor suit picture is my favorite.

But as you can see from the picture me with my older brother Carl and our Dad, we were given Army things.

At the rail yard, we raided freight cars for helmets and belts and shell casings."

The picture of Larry and Carl in AF blue was when Larry was at Gettysburg College. In the next picture he and fellow senior ROTC cadets are appointed Distinguished Graduates.

After a year's AF assignment at NYU graduate school, Larry and his college sweetheart, Darby, were married.

The couple posed with his mom and dad who performed the ceremony.

The next 10 years Larry was a weather officer, forecasting for global SAC and recon missions using the new satellites that tracked his career.

He returned to graduate school at the University of Michigan.

"I went to LA to be the staff weather officer to the classified space programs, now credited to the National Recon Organization (NRO).

They needed support for launch of course, but on orbit weather and recovery weather scouted by weather satellites was my specialty. The launch experience was very valuable to my later career. The Manned Orbiting Laboratory was a fun program since we had our own military astronauts. When that program fell to the VietNam budget, those guys, test pilots all who flew into LAAFB, did very well, many flying the Shuttle."

Larry volunteered to go to Vietnam to run a classified weather satellite site at Tan Son Nhut.
The picture is of Site VI and the group picture shows those site troops who are not on shift. These are mostly electronic techs trained for this job at Keesler AFB.

Larry says he grew a mustache to look older as a supervisor. And he is the one wearing California sandals.

In Vietnam the weather satellite data was real time sent down to 7th AF HQ where it was briefed for the day's sorties.

"Two other favorite pastimes were frequent trips to the post office where I am standing in this picture and on my day off to find quiet places in Saigon like the Continental Palace beer garden where I sit in this picture".

This was Larry's last job as a weather officer.

He then returned to LAAFB.

"My first job as an engineer was in the Titan Launch vehicle program in the same building where MOL had been.
NASA was buying Titans for their interplanetary missions. I was to make NASA happy (see picture of me and the Viking and launch vehicle directors) and to manage the launch facilities changes and Titan engineering to integrate NASA's Centaur upper stage.
At the same time I was helping the Air Force Public Affairs remind the public that the Titan and the Launch pad were Air Force contributions.
The success of the Viking missions stands out as one of them landed on Mars on THE FOURTH OF JULY 1976 !"

Larry says his family saw him a little more when he was in the space launch business than when he was in Vietnam.

There were social things that wives just love as in this picture of Larry and Darby in formal gear (always white in LA).

But Larry traveled to Cape Canaveral AFS which NASA kept calling Kennedy, hundreds of times. Larry stayed in LA so long that both of his kids went K-12 in Manhattan Beach schools.

After Titan he had a Vandenberg AFB Shuttle launch pad planning job and was a safety standard officer for satellite tracking stations.

"My last assignments in the USAF were as both engineering and operations directors of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP).
This was the program that first launched when I started supporting global weather forecasts."

The last official picture of Larry is the only one he didn't shave for because he was retiring. Then he tells me he shaved off the mustache, this time to look younger to get a civilian job.

I worked as a contractor for 14 years consulting to the Air Force on integration of military payloads on launch vehicles.

The best part of the job was reporting to younger Air Force men and women who were dedicated to making every launch a success because the Warriors are now getting many more of the space payload products directly"

[SassyMom]

How about we share the computer tomorrow. We will set the timer on the stove and when it buzzez it is the next persons turn. I will be in charge of the timer. :)

[kneezles]

I DO have veto power on what bathing suits she posts!

[SassyMom]

ROFLMHO........

[SpookBrat]

I wanted to share with the group here and the lurking military, something that is very important to bluesagewoman. She runs a one woman FReep in liberal Columbia, MO, God love her. She wants the lurking military, especially from this area, to know how much they are supported. Even her beloved furry friend, Winifred, gets in on the act. She had this picture blown up at Kinkos and put on a sign, much to the despair of the peaceniks. She says they HATE this picture! One of her engineering students enlisted in the Air Force, and she says he is her biggest hero. This is her short essay she put together, describing her FReep. I’m so proud of her courage and patriotism.

It is the best of days, and the worst of days. Anyone familiar with Missouri weather knows it is the land of extremes. Wednesday was no different. After a long, hot, dry spell, thunderstorms have been popping up. This particular Wednesday, was classic.

The thing that sets Wednesday’s off is the weekly “Peace Vigil” aka, the peacniks getting in a few hits at America and her armed services. I am filled with anticipation, and my sign is ready. (Water-proof ink, no less.)

4:00 finally comes, and I am out the door. I love my University job, but holding the peaceniks accountable is more exciting than paperwork, today. Driving to my favorite parking space at Hardee’s, I park and grab my supplies. Being an old farm girl, I am pretty sure of what the weather has in store for the next hour or so. It does not disappoint.

Manning my post, ½ block ahead of the peaceniks, and before the University of Missouri traffic will encounter the peacenik intersection with their posters and protests, I stand. The owner of the little flower shop is accommodating. We have an agreement that I may stand outside his business. At first, he said it was a free country. Then, he saw my sign, and was a bit more than enthusiastic.

Prepared, I hold up my sign reading, “America, Love it or Lose it.” (This is pretty innocuous after holding signs that read “I Protest the Protesters” or “Whatever They are Against This Week, I am For.”) The traffic is passing, and mostly non-committal. It is fair-weather now, but it can all change quickly, and does.

Almost on cue, it starts to rain. Gently at first…just a nice large drop here and there. Then a bit more. I look at the corner with the peaceniks. They are getting antsy. Finally, Missouri lets her sky open up, and the rain pours, straight and strong. The peaceniks scatter in all directions.

Reaching out for a small, automatically inflating umbrella, it is raised over my sign. Love It, or Lose It. Looking at the intersection, I see the head peacenik looking my direction. In short shift, the peaceniks stop, and come back through the deluge.

Happy as hell, I remember years ago standing for hours on a roadway in the driving rain, 40 degrees, and soaked to the bone, an accident, someone needing help or dying. I was a police officer, and find no sacrifice all in a 70 degree spring rain…it is an easy trip. No problem.

It stops raining after about 45 minutes. I close my umbrella, put my sign under my arm and head for my truck. (I have to go to choir practice tonight, and really must go,) although the traffic is giving me the thumbs up, a lot in the rain. We have an understanding now. Honk for the peaceniks…quiet for America.

Turning right near the intersection, I spot some very wet folks…probably 20 or so very drippy peaceniks. My heart leapt, they were wet, but I am warm all over.

God Bless our Troops. If you hear reports of the massive protests by the peacenik types, remember, you will not hear of the only slightly wet patriot who stands with you. One is still laughing hysterically in Columbia.

Here is one of her signs:

bluesagewoman, I had a terrible problem saving this correctly. It's on my server, but nothing comes up. Everyone.....the sign says, AMERICA...LOVE IT OR LOSE IT

And here is Winifred. Winifred thinks Peaceniks are DOGS!!! This is the picture she blew up for a sign. LOL Isn't it great?

[SassyMom]

Thank you!!!!!! You are the best! And your story makes me warm all over. We need some Missouri Freepers to help you!!!!!!!!! God Bless You and God Bless America!!!!!

[SAMWolf]

I love it! Great job bluesagewoman!

[bluesagewoman]

Actually, we have several FReepers (Zip, DogRobber, Prov, RightWing, and other locals) who help out at the Saturday counter protests. The Wed. ones are a little lonely, as for some reason responsible conservatives are doing things, like working for a living. I just get off a little early on Wed. and put in a presence so the peaceniks don't have all the say so about America.

[lodwick]

Uplifting Peggy Noonan read

[SassyMom]

Well, thank you so much for all you are doing.

[Pippin]

Thank you, Spookie! I love hearing about true patriots and people who don't let anything stop them fromdoing what needs to be done. I'll stop complaining about the weather in Maryland after reading that essay.

[MeekOneGOP]

Hope your day is lovely!

[Pippin]

;^) giggle!

[Pippin]

This is from me and Sassy

GRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!

[Pippin]

you are my hero now! Go for it! God bless America and God bless you :^)

[Pippin]

It'd just fine and dandy :^)

Hope your's is going well!

[lodwick]

Thanks so much. Excellent work.

[deadhead]

Thank You for serving our Great country larryjohnson! Great pictures, great reading about your Military history. As always Snow Bunny, your work here is awesome. Have a wonderful weekend All.

GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS AND VETERANS

GOD BLESS AMERICA

[SpookBrat]

Oops, I should have put, "One woman FReep on Wednesdays". LOL I thought I remembered hearing about other FReepers FReeping in Columbia. Sorry for that error.

I'm going grocery shopping. See y'all later.

[Pippin]

Good Morning, DH!

Amen to that post!